Jesus Luzardo, a minor-league pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, has started a memorial fund for the family of Chris Hixon, the athletic director who was among those killed in Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Luzardo, a 20-year-old left-hander who is considered one of the Athletics' top pitching prospects, graduated from Stoneman Douglas in 2016. In a post on his fundraising page, he said Hixon "played a huge role in supporting my dreams of becoming a professional baseball player and his loss will be felt by everyone in the Douglas community."

Hixon was hailed as a hero for trying to help students during Wednesday's shooting at the school, in which 17 people were killed and more than a dozen wounded. Law enforcement officials have said expelled student Nikolas Cruz, 19, admitted to carrying out the killings.

A married father of two, Hixon, 49, also served as the wrestling coach at Stoneman Douglas. He previously was athletic director at South Broward High School and had served in Iraq as a U.S. naval reservist.